Whether you are an SEO newbie or an experienced SEO junkie, there is no denying how important content is to ranking well on search engines like Google and Bing.
Google has often referenced the idea that “content is king” and has made the use of content a central part of its algorithms over the years. For example, last month’s EEAT (Expertise, Experience, Authority and Trustworthiness) update and Google’s helpful content update, which either rewarded or demoted sites based on the quality and usefulness of their content.
With that in mind, we talk to some industry experts and growing companies to understand how they use content to build authority in their industry.
Create guides with statistics
“It’s always helpful for a new or existing brand to add blog posts and guides to their website,” explains Richard Allan, co-founder of energy startup Warmable.
“A lot of content shows that you have substance, and a site with 50 pages and posts is likely to outperform a site with just 5 or 10.”
However, making this content statistical and focused on real things that people are looking for is a very good way to gain authority.
“So instead of adding the top 10 tips on the topic or how to save money on it, consider language like this below and make sure to add important statistics high on the page and in the metadata “so they stand out in the SERPs.”
- What percentage of people use…
- How many people have…
- How many people do/don’t….
- How much money can be saved by…
- How many people in the US/UK are…
- How much is this (name) industry worth?
- How many people in the US use…
“Many users and even journalists are looking for this killer statistic, so you have to be able to show it very early and clearly and have it backed up by a strong source.”
“You’ll also find that this helps with natural link building, because if you’re top of mind for a good phrase or a statistically sound question, a journalist will naturally link to you and very often just use one of the first sources they see on Google.” as a fact. You’d be surprised at how many easy, high-quality links you could generate.”
The layout of the content is crucial
“How you present your content is very important,” explains Justine Gray from content platform Trending Impact.
To be truly educational, authoritative and informative, you need to make the content very tasty and easy to digest. This can be as simple as adding key bullet points at the beginning of the content to provide an overview, using short paragraphs to emphasize clear points, and using graphics or images with data to make it stand out. What’s important is that you engage with the information early and don’t ramble on to increase the word count.
“A nice feature for organizing your text includes the use of accordion tabs for FAQs, drop-down menus, and clickable tabs at the top of the page that take you directly to the desired section,” says Gray.
Use people and authority figures
Google has given more emphasis to the use of authors, guest authors and real expertise behind any guides or blog posts.
With reference to Google’s recent helpful content update, webmasters gain greater authority when a real face or team member is clearly credited as the author on content, including landing pages and blog posts.
Statements like “reviewed by” and “edited by” increase credibility, especially if the bio contains relevant qualifications or indicates years of experience – and this is perfect for the medical and financial industries.
Additionally, authors can add their LinkedIn and Twitter profiles to their bio for additional impact.
“We have found that using guest authors who are experts in their field represents great added value,” explains Dr. Max Linden, founder of The Hawker Online. “Finding people who run companies, have followers or enjoy presenting themselves there is a good start.
“Not only is guest and expert-contributed content more insightful and engaging, you can also share it across your social network and yours to maximize reach.”
Use not only text, but also videos
“As we all know today, content is not just text but is highly visual,” informs Dean Benzaken, co-founder of Techvolutionary.
“There are many ways to quickly turn your existing content into voice notes that people can click and hear on the page using AI.”
Additionally, videos add a lot of value to any content, and you have some great tools today to help you make this happen. So if you have a long video, you can use Opus to split it into 10 smaller videos with subtitles, or you can use Synthesia to create an AI avatar that automatically generates the text. The opportunities to make your content stand out and create authority in your field are enormous.
